Alfred Sant, (born 28 February 1948 in
tas-Sliema)
is a
Maltese politician and a novelist. He led the
Labour Party from 1992 to 2008 and served as
Prime Minister of Malta
The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The P ...
between 1996 and 1998 and as Leader of the Opposition from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2008.
[Historical Dictionary of Malta]
by Uwe Jens Rudolf, 2018
[Office of the Prime Minister]
- Alfred Sant
Sant is an established writer and
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and has published several books.
[
]
Biography
Studies and career
Sant graduated from the University of Malta
The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...
as Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics in 1967 and as Master of Science in Physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
in the following year. He studied public administration in 1970 at the ''Institut International d'Administration Publique'' of the École Nationale d'Administration
The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President of France, President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the Constitu ...
(ENA) in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.[
Sant served as second, and then first secretary at the Mission of ]Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
to the European Communities
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...
in Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
between 1970 and 1975 when he resigned to undertake full-time studies in the USA. He completed a Master of Business Management (with honors) from Boston University Graduate School of Management
The Questrom School of Business (formerly, the Boston University School of Management) is the business school at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1913 as the College of Business Administration, the school offe ...
in 1976 and graduated a Doctor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
in 1979.[
Between 1977 and 1978 Sant served as advisor on general and financial management at the Ministry of Parastatal and People's Industries in 1977–1978, and then as the managing director of Medina Consulting Group in 1978–1980. Sant returned to the public sector in 1980 as executive deputy chairman with the Malta Development Corporation. As of 1982 he started working as a private consultant.][
Sant's first political post with the Labour Party was as chair of its Department of Information (1982–92). During this time he also served as President of the Party (1984–88) and chaired the Guze Ellul Mercer Foundation of the ]Malta Labour Party
The Labour Party ( mt, Partit Laburista, PL), formerly known as the Malta Labour Party ( mt, Partit tal-Ħaddiema, MLP), is one of the two major political parties in Malta, along with the Nationalist Party. It sits on the centre-left of the p ...
and the General Workers' Union.[ He served a stint as the editor of the Party weekly ''Il-Ħelsien'' (1987–88).
In 1988–89, he chaired a party working group on the relations with the ]European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, whose report was then published in English and Maltese. Another study by Sant, entitled "Malta's European Challenge" , was published in 1995, and focused on the need for Malta to establish the best possible relations with the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
compatible with Malta's position at the centre of the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
.[
Sant first stood for election in 1987; although he was unsuccessful, he was co-opted to Parliament later that year. In 1992, following the resignation of ]Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, (17 July 19335 November 2022) was a Maltese politician who served as Prime Minister of Malta from December 1984 to May 1987. , he was elected as party leader.
Prime Minister in 1996-98
The Labour Party won the October 1996 elections under Sant who campaigned for the removal of the Value Added Tax
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
(VAT) that had been introduced in 1995 as an unpopular but required step towards EU accession.[ A year after taking office, the government replaced VAT by a similar ]indirect tax
An indirect tax (such as sales tax, per unit tax, value added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST), excise, consumption tax, tariff) is a tax that is levied upon goods and services before they reach the customer who ultimately pays the i ...
, the Customs and Excise Tax (CET). The government also froze Malta's application for EU membership, which had been submitted by the previous Nationalist government.
Sant's tenure as Prime Minister lasted only 22 months. Enjoying only a one-seat majority in Parliament, the Government was vulnerable to threats from former Prime Minister and Labour leader Dom Mintoff
Dominic Mintoff, ( mt, Duminku Mintoff, ; often called ''il-Perit'', "the Architect"; 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012) was a Maltese Socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 198 ...
. Things came to a head in the summer of 1998 when a row with Mintoff over a coastal concession to a private company resulted in the Government being defeated on the motion transferring the land. Sant felt that the government's parliamentary majority was compromised and asked the President to dissolve the House. In the subsequent snap elections held in September 1998 the Labour Party was defeated.[
]
2003 Referendum and election
The Nationalist party, back in power, reactivated Malta's EU membership bid. Alfred Sant stayed on as leader of the opposition and campaigned against Malta's accession into the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.[
In the run-up to the March 2003 referendum on EU accession, Sant was also critical of what he called a "sham referendum" insisting that a general election alone would settle the EU membership issue. He called on Labour supporters to either vote No, abstain or invalidate their vote. He himself abstained.
The Yes side won the referendum by 54% with over 90% turnout - but Sant claimed that this was fewer than half of all eligible voters. On the basis of this "puzzling" interpretation, both sides were claiming victory in the streets.][
In view of the lack of consensus on the interpretation of the result, Prime Minister ]Eddie Fenech Adami
Edoardo "Eddie" Fenech Adami, (born 7 February 1934) is a Maltese politician and Nationalist politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 1987 until 1996, and again from 1998 until 2004. Subsequently, he was the seventh president ...
asked the President to dissolve the Parliament and call for fresh elections. These were held in April 2003 and the Labour Party was again defeated at the polls.
Sant tendered his resignation as party leader. He did, however, stand for election for Party leader again which was contested by two other candidates for the post, John Attard Montalto and Angelo Farrugia
Angelo "Anġlu" Farrugia (born 29 December 1955) is a Maltese politician and the current Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta. Previously he served Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for w ...
. Sant was re-elected party leader with 66% of votes cast by Labour Party delegates and returned to lead the Party.
2008 general election
The Labour Party, spearheaded by Sant, presented a new programme ''Pjan għal bidu ġdid'' (Plan for a new beginning) and called for ''Bżonn ta' Bidla'' (The need for a Change) after the 20 years (save for his brief stint from 1996 to 1998) of Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
government. The electoral programme contained references to overhauls in the educational system (which proved to be extremely controversial), reduction of an electricity surcharge by half, and tax breaks on overtime work.
At the 2008 Maltese general election
General elections were held in Malta on 8 March 2008 to elect all Member of parliament, members of the Parliament of Malta, House of Representatives They were held alongside 2008 Maltese local elections, local elections.
The elections were conte ...
Sant was defeated for the third consecutive time, this time by Lawrence Gonzi
Lawrence Gonzi, (born 1 July 1953) is a Maltese people, Maltese politician, retired Nationalist Party (Malta), Nationalist politician and lawyer, who served for twenty-five years in various critical roles in Maltese politics. Gonzi was Prime M ...
, on a slim margin of only 1,580 votes. Following the loss of the election, Sant resigned as leader of the Labour Party on 10 March 2008, and as Leader of the Opposition on 5 June 2008; he was succeeded as party leader by Joseph Muscat
Joseph Muscat (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and as the leader of the Labour Party from June 2008 to January 2020.
Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the ...
and as leader of the opposition by Charles Mangion. He retained his Parliamentary seat.
2014 European Parliament election
Sant announced that he would stand as a Labour Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election
The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014.
It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...
, despite his previous opposition to EU membership for Malta. He received 48,739 votes, which elected him outright, acquiring more votes than any other candidate. He was re-elected in 2019.
Literary works and journalism
Alfred Sant is also an established and prolific novelist, short story writer and playwright. His published works include plays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction.[
]
Plays
* ''Min Hu Evelyn Costa?'' (1979)
* ''Fid-Dell tal-Katidral'' (1994)
* ''Qabel Tiftaħ l-Inkjesta'' (1999)
Short story collections
* ''Kwart ta' Mija'' (1995)
* ''Pupu fil-Baħar'' (2009)
Novels
* ''L-Ewwel Weraq tal-Bajtar'' (1968)
* ''Bejgħ u Xiri'' (1981)
* ''Silġ fuq Kemmuna'' (1982)
* ''La Bidu, La Tmiem'' (2001)
* ''L-Għalqa tal-Iskarjota'' (2009)
* ''George Bush f'Malta'' (2013)
Non-fiction works
* Collection of political essays, ''L-Impenn għall-Bidla'' (1986)
* Chronicle (political), ''It-28 ta' April 1958'' (1988)
* ''Malta's European Challenge'' (1995)
* ''Confessions of a European Maltese'' (2003 autobiography)
* ''Is-Soċjaliżmu fi Żminijietna'' (2004)
Other writings
Sant edited ''Tomorrow'', a monthly English-language magazine (1982–1985), and of ''Society'', a quarterly opinion magazine, apart from authoring numerous articles. Sant also contributed regularly to the General Workers' Union's Sunday Maltese-language newspaper ''It-Torċa'' until March 2008.
Honours
National honours
* : Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (1996) ''by right as a Prime Minister of Malta''
See also
*Prime Minister of Malta
The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The P ...
* List of prime ministers of Malta
*Frans Sammut
Frans Sammut (19 November 1945 – 4 May 2011) was a Maltese novelist and non-fiction writer.
Personal life and Education
Sammut was born in Zebbug, Malta. He was married to Catherine née Cachia, with whom he had two sons, Mark and Jea ...
(2008): ''Alfred Sant: Il-Vizjoni ghall-Bidla''
References
External links
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sant, Alfred
1948 births
University of Malta alumni
Boston University School of Management alumni
Companions of Honour of the National Order of Merit (Malta)
École nationale d'administration alumni
Harvard Business School alumni
Labour Party (Malta) politicians
Leaders of political parties in Malta
Living people
Maltese male novelists
Members of the House of Representatives of Malta
MEPs for Malta 2014–2019
MEPs for Malta 2019–2024
People from Pietà, Malta
Prime Ministers of Malta
20th-century Maltese politicians
21st-century Maltese politicians
Leaders of the Opposition (Malta)
20th-century Maltese novelists
21st-century Maltese novelists
Maltese dramatists and playwrights
Maltese short story writers
English-language writers from Malta